Latin America

Nearly all of Puerto Rico is without power on New Year’s Eve

A blackout has hit nearly all of Puerto Rico as the U.S. territory prepares to celebrate New Year’s.

Panama celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Panama Canal handover as Trump wants to take it back

The world welcomes 2025 with light shows, embraces and ice plunges

Ecuador orders the detention of 16 soldiers charged with the disappearance of 4 children

Cuba frees man who participated in 1997 attacks on hotels in Havana, orchestrated by Cuban exiles

Venezuela’s top court issues a $10 million fine for TikTok over allegedly deadly video challenges

Venezuela’s Supreme Court has issued a $10 million fine against TikTok for “not implementing measures” to prevent viral video challenges that have allegedly led to the deaths of three Venezuelan children recently.

Bolivia’s former leader Evo Morales seeks a political comeback from his stronghold in the tropics

Bolivia will elect a new president in August and already, a political battle is looming between two adversaries, the country’s former leader Evo Morales and his onetime ally turned rival, President Luis Arce.

Flights temporarily suspended at Halifax airport after airplane landing incident

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating an incident involving a plane at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport, which one passenger described as a rough landing that sparked flames.

Argentine judge charges five people over the death of former One Direction star Liam Payne

An Argentine judge has confirmed charges against five people in connection with the death of Liam Payne, a former member of musical group One Direction.

Trinidad and Tobago enact a state of emergency in the face of gang violence

A spike in deadly gang violence has prompted the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago to implement a country-wide state of emergency.

Mexico to investigate a town that thanked a drug lord for holiday season gifts for children

Mexico says it is investigating officials in a town where a sign was posted thanking a drug lord for holiday season gifts for children.

Peru’s Navy rescues dozens of fishermen stranded at sea as giant waves pound shore

Peru’s Navy says it has rescued about 30 fishermen who had been stranded for two days at sea as giant waves pounded the country’s northern coast.

Mexican authorities find 11 clandestine graves with 15 bodies near border with Guatemala

Eleven clandestine graves with the bodies of 15 men have been located in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, where a dispute between the Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generacion drug cartels is taking place.

8 people killed in a collision between a bus and a truck on Mexico’s Gulf coast

A collision between a bus and a truck on Mexico’s Gulf coast has left eight people dead and 27 others injured.

Venezuela accuses an Argentine officer of terrorism as relations deteriorate

Venezuela’s attorney general said on Friday that an Argentine military officer who was arrested in Venezuela earlier this month has been charged with terrorism.In a statement published on Instagram, the Attorney General’s office accused the officer, Nahuel Gallo, of “being part of a group of people

Brazil bridge collapse death toll rises to 9, with 8 other people unaccounted for

One more body has been found after a bridge linking two northern states on Brazil collapsed, lifting the death toll to nine.

Mexico tests cellphone app allowing migrants to send alert if they are about to be detained in US

Mexico is developing a cellphone app that will allow migrants to warn relatives and consulates if they think they are about to be detained by U.S. immigration officials.

Climate change added 41 days of dangerous heat around world in 2024

Scientists say human-caused climate change added an average of 41 days of dangerous heat worldwide in 2024.

Investigation of disappearance of children in Ecuador was delayed for days despite video evidence

A probe into the military’s role in the disappearance of four children in Ecuador this month was delayed for almost two weeks, even though police had access to surveillance videos implicating soldiers in the disappearance.

Mexican investigators find 12 bodies in clandestine graves in the northern border state of Chihuahua

Investigators in Mexico have found 12 bodies in clandestine burial sites in the northern border state of Chihuahua.

Haiti’s health minister loses his job after a deadly gang attack on a hospital in the capital

Haiti’s health minister has been removed from his post following a deadly gang attack on the largest public hospital in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Death toll in bridge collapse in Brazil jumps to 8, with at least 9 people still missing

Brazilian authorities say more bodies have been found after the collapse of a bridge linking two northern states, raising the death toll from the accident to eight.

Peyote sacred to Native Americans threatened by psychedelic renaissance

Peyote, a cactus that contains mescaline, a hallucinogen, grows naturally in South Texas and northern Mexico.

El Salvador’s Congress approves ending ban on metals mining

El Salvador’s Congress has approved a law that would lift the country’s seven-year-old ban on mining for metals.

Legendary drug lord Fabio Ochoa is deported to Colombia and walks free after 20 years in US prisons

One of Colombia’s legendary drug lords and a key operator of the Medellin cartel has been deported back to the South American country, after serving 25 years of a 30-year prison sentence in the United States.

Judge reinstates Ecuador’s vice president after deeming her suspension unconstitutional

An Ecuadorian judge has reinstated Vice President Verónica Abad to her role and lifted the five-month suspension imposed against her by the Ministry of Labor for allegedly abandoning her duties.

Surveillance videos appear to show 2 of 4 missing Ecuadorian kids taken by men in military uniform

Surveillance videos have emerged from the Ecuadorian coastal city of Guayaquil, showing men in military uniform grabbing two boys and driving them away.

Man faces murder charges in the death of a woman who was lit on fire in New York City subway

A man is facing murder charges in New York City for allegedly setting a woman on fire inside a subway train and then watching her die after she was engulfed in flames.

Bridge collapse in Brazil leaves at least 2 dead and a dozen others missing

Brazilian police say that that at least two people have been killed and a dozen others are missing after the collapse of a bridge that linked two northern states.

A board game born in Mexican prisons is bringing together people from all walks of life

A board game with ancient roots that established a foothold nearly a century ago in Mexican prisons is spreading in popularity outside the walls and trying to shed the stigma of being merely a pastime for prisoners.

Colombia’s ELN rebels announce Christmas truce

Colombia’s largest remaining rebel group has announced a unilateral truce to last until Jan. 3, the first since the previous ceasefire broke down in August.

As Christmas nears, Ecuador’s homes get a break from power cuts but companies still face rationing

As Christmas approaches and people decorate their homes with lights, Ecuadoreans are getting some relief from the severe power cuts that have hounded the country this year with President Daniel Noboa saying there will be no power rationing for residential areas - for the time being.

Tensions over Essequibo region resurface as Venezuela completes a bridge to a disputed border base

Guyana’s government has formally protested to Venezuela following the completion by Venezuela’s armed forces of a bridge built on a remote river island shared by both countries.

22 people die in a crash between a passenger bus and a truck in Brazil

Officials say 22 people have been killed in a crash between a passenger bus and a truck on a highway in Minas Gerais, a state in southeastern Brazil.

Guatemala authorities raid ultra-orthodox Jewish sect’s compound after report of abuse

Guatemalan authorities have searched the compound of an extremist ultra-orthodox Jewish sect and taken at least 160 minors and 40 women into protective custody after reports of abuse.

US wins ruling in a trade dispute with Mexico over its bid to ban genetically modified corn

The U.S. has won a trade dispute panel resolution on Mexico’s bid to ban genetically modified corn for human consumption.

Baby pigs get Christmas pardon from Florida mayor in a Cuban twist on White House turkey tradition

Two little piggies will not become Christmas Eve roast pork thanks to a holiday pardon they received from a Florida mayor.

Regional court faults El Salvador for denying a mother’s access to abortion, violating her rights

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has found El Salvador’s government responsible for violating the rights of a young Salvadoran woman who was denied an abortion of her anencephalic fetus in a country with a total abortion ban.

Amazon Indigenous community wins latest stage of court battle for lost territory

An Indigenous community in Peru has won the latest stage of a legal battle to reclaim lost rainforests.

Venezuelan opposition politician met with prosecutors after leaving Argentine diplomatic compound

Venezuela’s attorney general says an opposition politician met with prosecutors after leaving the Argentine diplomatic compound in the capital, Caracas, where he had sheltered for nine months to avoid arrest.